Doubts over iPhone 11 rumour

Doubts over iPhone 11 rumour

APPLE fans who have been holding out for the company to join the USB-C party with its next line of iPhones should perhaps brace for disappointment.

Despite mounting speculation the iPhone maker would drop its custom Lightning port and move to the more commonly used standard, a new report suggests otherwise.

USB-C is a new version of USB that is smaller and can transfer data more quickly. Apple already uses it on its laptops and many other smartphone makers have moved to it.

But according to reports out of Japan, spotted and translated by 9to5Mac, Apple won't be adding USB-C compatibility and will continue to ship a 5W charger and USB-A to Lightning cable in the box.

A desire to keep costs down is reportedly a driving factor in the decision. But users who want to juice up their iPhone a little quicker could at least opt for the 12W iPad charger.

Apple is famous for its product secrecy and doesn't comment on speculation or rumours about upcoming models. Instead the media, analysts and technophiles whip themselves into a frenzy over the latest rumour or insights from suppliers.

Apple began shipping an 18W USB-C charger with its iPad Pro line last year, fuelling expectations it could move to USB-C for iPhone as well.

So even if the iPhone 11 doesn't end up shipping with USB-C, it's definitely something the company is playing around with. And given Apple usually holds its flagship iPhone event in September, there's still plenty of time until we see what it has in store.

When the first iPhone launched in 2007, it featured a charging port designed specifically by Apple called the 30-pin dock connector, and it survived on Apple handsets for years.

But in 2012, Apple introduced a new Lightning port for charging phones (from the iPhone 5 onwards), making everybody's old charging cables obsolete.

A change to USB-C wouldn't inconvenience customers nearly as much and many Apple fans have been calling for a "one cable world", enabled by Apple joining the USB-C party.